Open Your Eyes
by Jacobi
Summary: Still recovering from the effects of Natoo, Sam and Jack make a painful discovery


Open Your Eyes by Jacobi

Title: Open Your Eyes

Author: Jacobi

Rating: Hrmmm, this is a toughie...PG for now but it will get a bit worse in later chapters...

Category: Romance/Drama

Email: branaghs_little_angel@hotmail.com

Disclaimer:I think that we all know how this one works. 'I don't own them- I wish that I did- Oh woe is me!'

Summary: The arrival of a mysterious human unlocks doors for Sam and Jack and opens their eyes to what life could be like. (Oh god, how cliched does THAT sound!)

Spoilers: Well, for now, Jolinar's Memories/Devil You Know and for later chapters, everything that preceded that! 

A/N: This little thing has been swimming around inside my head for some time now, so I thought that I sound finally get into the puter so that when my holidays are over, I have some semblance of sanity! I apologize that it takes so long to get going but there is so much that you need to know and find out to understand and prevent your eyes from glazing over!!! Also a note, the are for conversations between Jacob and Selmac and the _italics_ are for the memory recollections.

Jacob was enjoying a relaxing walk through the grounds of the Tollan home world. The official discussions between the Tollan and Tok'ra were not Jacob's cup of tea so seizing the opportunity he had escaped outside. Being a Tok'ra was still new to Jacob and the "settling in" process had not been helped by his detour to Sokar's part of the neighborhood about a month ago. He had been glad to get away with Sam afterward. They both had been drained after escaping. Her especially. She had been through a lot. Not only had she to deal with her own feelings but she also had to deal with the feelings placed on her by Jolinar. During their holiday she appeared to be happy and relaxed but Jacob knew his daughter. He knew that deep down inside she was hurting. As per usual, she didn't say anything, Jacob knew that she wouldn't, she kept it all bottled up. He had to admit that he did miss his children but mainly Sam. He hoped that soon she would settle down and find someone. Someone that she would open up to when she needed to. When she was hurting. He sighed. Jacob- stop worrying about your daughter. She will find happiness. You just need to give her time Yeah, and about a billion square miles of space Jacob retorted. Sorry, but I just wanna see my baby happy Selmac One day she will be Jacob. However, I think the reason that she kept her pain from you was because she didn't want to ruin your holiday. You cannot be upset at her for wanting to keep you happy. She put you above anything else. You could not ask for more I just wish that for once, she would take care and put herself first. You know, take care of number one for a change She will one day Jacob. She will Jacob sighed. Selmac. You had to love her. The best symbiote anyone could ask for. Caring, compassionate and above anything- wise. Jacob- is that the gate? The silence of the garden was broken by the activity of the stargate. Who do you think it is Jacob? None of the Tau'ri are expected to see us... Or to help with these discussions.. Jacob replied, moving closer to the Gate. The seventh chevron locked in and the Gate activated with its usual "whoosh" of the vortex and fluctuation of the event horizon. After a pause a solitary blonde figure appeared, only to stand unsteadily on the other side before collapsing. Jacob froze. SAM He ran up the stairs to the courtyard of the stargate. Please. Oh please don't let it be Sammie Jacob prayed to no one in particular. He paused as he reached the perimeter of the crowd that had formed before squeezing through to the figure's side. Carefully, he turned her over, scanning her features to see whom it was. Luckily, it wasn't Sam, but seeing the state that this girl was in, Jacob knew that she needed medical attention and fast. Not even pausing to think, Jacob turned to face Narim, who had appeared from the meeting.

"Open the gate."

Narim's eyes widened at the tone of Jacob's voice. "What? I...I can't.."

"I said, open the gate. NOW!"

Jacob could see the cogs turning in Narim's head as he contemplated the command. "To where?" He asked quietly.

"Earth." Narim did as he was commanded. Jacob gathered the girl up into his arms and pausing only to avoid the out stream, he never hesitated until he was through the event horizon and on his way to Sam.

TWO WEEKS EARLIER

Sam lay on the couch with her head in Jack's lap. It had been two weeks since SG-1's encounter with Sokar and his newly acquired, yet mysteriously undead, henchman Apophis and Sam had just arrived home from her holiday with Jacob. She and Jack just lay there in silence, reveling in the thought of being with each other again. The silence was punctured only by the sounds of their breaths. Sam was lounging on Jack's left side whilst Jack leant contentedly against the armrest, running his hand across Sam's cheek. She snuggled into him, sighing deeply. This was what they both had missed. The times that they had spent together just being partners, ignoring the ranks and restrictions that the SGC placed on them, learning what was human about them. Learning what was their favorite meal was or what television shows they liked to watch. It was serenity and peace at their greatest. As Sam sighed again, a single tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek. She tried hard to hold back the accompanying tears but she couldn't. Sam was tired of fighting her body and let the tears come. "Sam...you're crying," Jack frowned, pulling her up to a sitting position, "What's wrong? Come on Sam. I can't bear to see you cry. Tell me." Sam couldn't hold back any longer, sobs racking her frame. "Oh Jack. I'm so tired of fighting. I'm so tired of having to pretend that nothing hurts. But it does! It hurts, it hurts so much..." She cried and fell into his arms.

"What hurts Sam? Please, what hurts?" He quietly begged, alarmed that she could be hurt. "I do," She sobbed, then paused, trying to regain some composure. "When I was with Dad, it hurt all the time but I didn't want to spoil his holiday so I didn't tell him. I really wanted you there to help me. I needed you to hold me and tell me that it is going to be OK..."

"I'm sorry, really sorry that I wasn't there to hold you when you needed me to, but now I am here and I need to know what's wrong. I can't help you if you don't tell me." Jack said mirroring the words that Sam had told him when they first had been together. They had been together for about a month when the anniversary of Charlie's death appeared. About two days beforehand, Jack had become silent and slightly distant. Sam, wanting to know if it was anything that she had done to make him like this, had gone to confront him. There was a huge silence when she walked into his office; it was like Jack had shut himself away. Turning around, she had locked the door, not wanting anyone to walk in on the conversation. "What can I do for you Captain?" He had asked civilly. Sam sighed. She had hoped that he wouldn't be like this, but if the previous day had been anything to go by, hope was fading rapidly. "Uh.... permission to speak freely sir." She asked, hoping that this would give her the opening that she needed. 

"Granted Carter. Now, what do ya want?"

She sighed. This was going to be tough. "Um, sir. I need to speak to you about something regarding a personal matter." 

"And what would that be?"

"Your behavior to me...sir."

"What exactly do you mean by that, Captain?" Things were not looking good and Sam's patience was wearing thin.

"Well sir, you seem to be acting rather abrupt than usual around me. Colder and more distant if you want to put it exactly. And, well, I want to know why?"

He tensed. Not a good sign, Samantha, better look out she warned herself. "Captain, I didn't know that there was a change of behavior towards you. I apologize." That was enough. 

"GOD JACK! I don't mean at work! I mean personally. Why the hell don't you even look me in the eye? Or touch me? I need to know if it was something I did so I can hope to correct it! Come on! All I want is a simple answer!" Her emotions were starting to get the better of her, but she was so angry and frustrated because after all this time, he still wouldn't tell her what was wrong when he was distant.

There was an iciness in Jack's eyes that was reflected on the coldness of his expression. "Nothing is ever simple Captain. You don't need to worry yourself; it has nothing to do with you. Dismissed." It was not over for Sam.

"YOU KNOW GOD DAMNED WELL THAT I NEED TO KNOW JACK! I can't help you if you don't tell me-"

"WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO HELP ME? Out of sorrow? Out of pity?" He raged, his eyes blazing with fire.

"No, NO! Out of love! Because I'm in love with you Jack and it hurts me to see you in this amount of pain. I just want to make it go away. GOD! Please, just let me help you." Sam's emotions had had won and tears were flowing down her cheeks. She had moved forward and was leaning against the front of his desk, her knuckles white from their struggle to hold her up. Jack suddenly realized how much pain he had put her through. 

"Oh Sam," He said, moving from where he stood in anger, running to her and wrapping his arms around her like a child. Tears were forming in his chocolate eyes, but none fell.

"Jack, it's OK. You can tell me what is hurting you and I will still be here. I'll still love you. OK?" Sam whispered into Jack's ear.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just...it's just that tomorrow is...tomorrow means that it's had been three years since.... since...since Charlie..." Jack breathed into her shoulder.

"Oh Jack. I'm sorry. It's ok." Sam soothed.

"I thought that I could handle it. But every year when I look at the calendar, I'm reminded. It gets harder and harder to forget. I try to shut myself away so that I...but...It's just easier for me to escape. I'm sorry." Jack said, his face still resting on her shoulder. Sam pulled his chin gently up with her hand. A lone tear had escaped. She ran her hand across his cheek and took away the tear, replacing it with a kiss. She looked into his eyes and saw pain, but also a glimmer of hope. She ran her hand along his lips and planted a gentle, loving kiss on them. He kissed her back, more longingly, but still gentle. As they kissed Sam placed her arms back around his shoulders and pulled herself further into his embrace.

After a while Sam pulled back, "I want to be there for you when you need me, so if you're ever in any pain, just, just let me help you."

"I will. The same applies to you also Sam," Jack replied, sighing. "Promise?"

Sam smiled brightly, banishing all but the reminder of their fight- the redness of her eyes, "Promise". 

So as he held Sam in his arms, stroking her hair and holding her tight, he hoped that now, just over a year later, she would open up to him more freely than he did back then. 

"The memory device...when I felt the torture, it...it was so painful. It hurt beyond anything..." Sam managed to gasp out.

"Sam! If it hurt so much than why didn't you tell me? Or someone else? Why did you continue?" Jack asked worried.

"Because Dad needed me to be strong and I could, I could see that Martouf was depending on me. It was so hard to say no, Jack. I, I wanted to but I couldn't. Oh God, it was horrible.. pain...all over. Jack, I needed you to..to comfort me. To make it all go away. But....but...." Sobs started to wrack Sam's body again and Jack just held her tightly. 

"But, I couldn't." Jack replied.

"No," came the muffled reply from the still crying Sam. She looked up at him, eyes wet with tears. "Jack...I tried so hard to make it go away, but I got so tired, I gave up. It was so bad, oh God, it hurt. I couldn't sleep. It was like, like...it was like being burned alive. I had to spend half the night under the shower. After that, I cried myself to sleep, exhausted. I just wanted to come back home to you but Dad looked so happy. I couldn't take that away from him... " Sam dissolved into tears again after that. Jack spent most of the night with her in his arms, soothing her and healing her. Telling her that it was going to be OK. When all of her pain was gone, she slept soundly for the first time in two weeks. After lying her on the bed, Jack just sat next to her and wept. Upset at the fact that she had been through so much and there had been no one to comfort her until now.

PRESENT DAY

"Unauthorized off-world activation. I repeat, unauthorized off-world activation." Major Davis' voice cried out, distracting SG-1 from their latest briefing with General Hammond. They cast brief looks of confusion at each other before following the General out of the room to the observation deck.

"Any idea who it may be?" General Hammond asked.

"No sir."

"Are there any SG teams off world presently?" Daniel asked.

"A few, but they aren't due to return until later on." General Hammond replied.

"Any signal?" Sam asked.

"No ma-am." Davis answered. They all cast a glance at General Hammond to see what he would do. The older man paused.

"Open the iris." They watched as it opened, revealing the crystal blue of the event horizon. Each held their breath, waiting to see who would step through. The soldiers had filed in below them, taking their place in the embarkation room. Suddenly, the horizon rippled and Jacob appeared before them, carrying a figure in his arms. Sam and Jack headed for the stairs, followed by Daniel and Teal'c. Vaguely, they could hear Davis calling for a medical team as they made their way to Jacob, who had staggered to a stand still on the ramp. Sam entered first, Jack hot on her heels.

They made their way to Jacob who was beginning to strain from the effort of holding his burden up. They managed to catch him just before he hit the ramp.

"DAD! Are you okay?" Sam asked, leaving Jack to handle the bundle.

Jacob just nodded in response, waving Sam off.

"Go...help Jack...I'm fine.... really..." Sam was stopped from questioning him further by Jack's call.

"Carter?" She turned around quickly to see him pulling the robes away from the figure.

She moved over to him and watched him pull the robes away further. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Daniel and Teal'c direct the medical team in, Janet in the lead.

"Carter...she's looks human."

"Is she breathing?" 

Jack leant over her to check her breathing and pulse. He paused briefly before turning up his gaze to Janet who had made her way to Sam's side. "Barely...pulse is weak." 

"Let me take her from here Colonel. You see to Major Carter's father." 

Before they could say anything more, Janet and two assistants had moved the girl onto a stretcher and were on their way to the infirmary. 

Sam turned back to her father; carefully grasping his elbow and helping him stand with Jack supporting his other side. Together the trio moved towards the doorway, passing Daniel and Teal'c, who filed in behind them. They had only gone a few paces further when Jacob pulled himself free of Sam and Jack.

"Alright, you can let go of me now."

"Dad-"

"Uh, Sam," Jacob interrupted. "I'm fine, just coming off an adrenaline rush that's all. Selmac's got it covered." Sam cast a disapproving look at Jacob before, sighing and gesturing him to keep moving.

"Thank you sweetie. Now, to George. He'll probably wanna know to what he owes this visit." With that he moved away, leaving Sam, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c in his wake.

"I'm sorry to say this to you, but I have honestly no idea why I dialed here. I just knew I had to." Jacob commented to the group assembled around the debriefing table, having already explained the events preceding his arrival. 

"Do even have a slight idea?" Daniel asked.

"Nope." 

"Could it have been a gut reaction? A premonition perhaps?" Daniel continued. 

Jacob laughed. "Slow down there Daniel. The Tok'ra may be able to do some pretty weird things but premonitions are not one of them." 

Before Daniel could ask any more questions, Major Davis entered.

"Ah, sorry to interrupt sirs, but Doctor Frasier is requesting you and SG-1 in the infirmary. It's about the child that General Carter came through the gate with."

"Thank you Major," General Hammond replied, dismissing Davis, before turning to the group. "Shall we?"

Upon entering the infirmary, they were intercepted by Janet at the door. 

"How's she going Doctor?" General Hammond queried

"Well sir. It doesn't look good. She is in a coma, but that is not what I wanted to talk to you about. I think you should see this," she replied, herding them over to the x-ray machines by the bed. "We did every test we could, including full body scans and x-rays. Unfortunately, we found very little, but what we did find, I think you will be very interested to see. She is most definitely human and has no viruses or illnesses in her blood; it all came back clean. Except, for a slight trace of nanotechnology.."

"You mean like Merrin?" Sam questioned.

Janet sighed, "Not exactly. Nannites, like the ones Colonel O'Neill was infected with, only the ones in her blood are dormant and seem to have been for quite some time." 

"Well, what does that mean?" Daniel queried. 

"I honestly don't know. I'm not worried about that though. I'm worried about these and how they got there." Janet replied, placing some pictures and x-rays up on the board in front of her. She paused before continuing her explanation. "We found these marks on her back when we changed her into a gown. They seem to be scars, deep ones at that. Recent too. Probably...two, three weeks old at the most." 

"That's nasty," Jacob commented. 

"What would cause those?" Sam questioned, grimacing at the sight before her.

"I'm not sure Major. They look to me like cuts; gashes but edges are too frayed. They certainly seem painful though."

"What else did you find?" 

Janet pointed to one of the x-rays. "Underneath the skin on her left forearm, there seems to be a slim box of sorts. It's about the size of a matchbox only thinner and longer. It's unlike anything that I have seen before."

"What is it?" General Hammond asked.

"If you mean, is it a weapon, then I would have to say no. It's not emitting any energy or radiation waves from what I can tell. It's not attached to any body structures like tissue or bone like we saw with Cassandra. It seems perfectly harmless." 

"Seems is not a word that I like Doctor." 

"I know sir, but until I can find out what it is in more detail, I can't be sure." 

"What do you think caused the collapsing and coma?" Jacob queried.

"From what I can tell, it seems to be extreme exhaustion, both physical and mental. I've seen this sort of thing before but never in one so young." 

"What would cause that sort of, complete, exhaustion?" Daniel asked. 

"Many things. Extensive trauma, overworking, stress. And that's to name a few. Sir, I would like to request your permission to remove the object from under her skin." 

"Do you think that's wise?" General Hammond responded.

"Well I don't know sir, but it might be useful in helping us piece together what happened." 

General Hammond sighed, contemplating his answer.

"Permission granted. Report to me with your findings. Until then, all of you must remain on base. Jacob, your welcome to stay.." 

"I really wish I could George, but, I'm probably gonna have a few people wanting blood after my sudden disappearance."

"Dad, do you have to go now?" Sam pleaded.

"Yeah Sammie I do. But hey, keep me updated 'bout this girl. Something tells me that she's pretty special." 

"Ok Dad, I will." Sam replied, smiling weakly. She escorted Jacob to the gate room, then watched him walk through the wormhole out of sight.

"Miss him already?" Jack whispered in her ear.

Sam turned to him and smiled, glad that they were alone in the room. "You know I do." 

"What can you tell us about the object Doctor?" General Hammond asked Janet, seated to his left at the debriefing table. Janet sighed briefly before considering her answer. 

"Well sir, the box is, like I thought, harmless. Once it was removed from the body, with the majors' help, I ran further tests on it. Things like checking the structure, scanning it to see what was inside, running tests on the casing to see what it was made of and giving pictures of the casing to Doctor Jackson to see if he could decipher the inscription that we found-"

"Inscription? Would you care to elaborate Doctor Jackson?" General Hammond interrupted. 

"Well, uh...the inscription was found on what appears to be the underside of the, uh, box, and it well, it's in Abydonian sir."

"What do you mean by that Doctor?" 

"Well, sir. It means that the girl could be Abydonian herself, but when I asked Janet, she told me that it couldn't be possible. Unlike the Abydonian peoples, her skin shows no sign of sun exposure and her hands don't appear to be worn down from any hard activity. Her blood work is incredibly clean but also has traces of immunizations for your common, run of the mill diseases usually found on Earth. So all in all, for an Abydonian inscription to be found on a device inside of a human girl is very strange."

"What did the inscription say Daniel?" Sam asked.

"'To see while sleeping what others cannot.' Don't ask me what that means I don't have any idea. I think and don't quote me on this, that maybe, maybe, it has something to do with the function of the devices." 

"Have you figured out what the actual devices are yet" Jack asked.   
"Well, we, being Janet and myself, got Sam to run some scans and x-rays of the, uh, box and I think that uh- Sam?" Daniel replied, motioning over to Sam.

Sam passed around a folder containing what appeared to be photographs and x-rays. "The box seems to contain what appear to be Tok'ra Memory Recall devices. Unfortunately, there seems to be no trigger or control like the one that Martouf had when we were on Natoo. There are three of them in total, one seems to be slightly bigger than the other two and has a higher density. The box itself is made of surgical steel; obviously built that way for the purpose of being hidden safely inside the body. That is all that we have right now sirs, but I think that we should be able to find out more once-" Sam paused glancing at General Hammond, "Once we open the 'box'."

Sam glanced quickly at Jack, who caught her eyes for a second before turning to speak to General Hammond. 

"Sir, I know that this situation is very complex, but I think that one of the questions that need to be asked is that how did a girl, a HUMAN girl come into the ownership of devices like these. And how the hell she managed to get through the 'gate." He paused to gauge the General's reaction. "But I also think, sir, that the only way that we are going to be able to find answers for these questions is by opening that box and trying out those devices or whatever's."

"But do you realize Colonel that you are asking me to grant you permission to use a device that we not only don't know how to use but hell, we don't even know its capabilities. That is not something that has an easy answer. It will require due consideration. Until I am ready to give that answer, you are all dismissed." With that, the group stood and exited the room.

Sam sat in her lab, going over the scans that she had, trying to find something new about the functioning of the devices. Sighing softly, she dropped her head into her hands, fatigue closing her eyes. 

"Knock, knock. Carter, can I come in?"

Sam turned quickly in her chair to see Jack standing in the doorway, two steaming mugs in hand. 

"Uh, Colonel! Yeah, come on in!" she replied, moving to stand.

"Ah! Stay seated. You look tired," He scolded handing her a mug of tea. "This will perk you up a bit." 

"Uh, just what I need." Sam replied eagerly taking the mug from his hand. Sipping it gingerly, she relaxed almost immediately as she felt it warm her. She smiled over at Jack. "Thanks Jack."

"Ah, don't mention it," Jack replied, sitting down and smiling as she slipped in his name. "Everyone's worn out with this girl. I'm surprised that Daniel hasn't dried up the base's coffee supply yet." 

Sam smiled. Even though he was tired himself, he still thought of her. 

"So whatcha doin'? Going over those scans again?" Jack asked, indicating the folder on the desk. Sam placed her cup down and picked up the folder. "Yeah. I wanted to see if there is anything else would give us an idea of how these things work and what they are used for. I think that if I can do that, then General Hammond would be more willing to give us permission to use them than he is at present."

"Well, do you think they are like the ones Marty had or are they different?" 

"I'm assuming that they're the same. Only, we have no way to control them, no way to turn the on and off like we could before. If we go ahead and use them anyway, like General Hammond said, we have no idea of what their power" 

"And we learnt all about that last time."

Sam paused, picking up her mug and studying its contents. "Yeah we did." Jack saw that he had upset her slightly with that comment. "Look, Sam, I'm sorry about-"

"No, Jack, don't be. That was a month ago. It's ok now."

Jack looked at her, and reached to gently clasp her hand underneath the table. "Yeah. It is."

"After much consideration, I have decided to grant the colonel's request and you have my permission to open the box. However, if and when you use the devices, I want those wearing them to be placed under constant supervision, is that understood?" General Hammond instructed; receiving nods of understanding from those situated around the table. 

"And I also want you to know that I have contacted the Tok'ra and we have both come to the conclusion that this is a highly volatile situation. There is a **human girl** out there who seems to know a fair bit about us and we want to know why and how. Now, so far, they have kindly agreed to let us continue with our investigations without interference. However, if push comes to shove, they will take her away and do all that they deem necessary to protect both their interests and ours. Is that understood?" He could see the looks of unease spreading around the room, but continued anyway. "Now if you would excuse me, I believe that we all have work to do."

In the infirmary, Janet was waiting for General Hammond to arrive before reporting to the group with her latest findings. 

She, Sam and Daniel had opened the box and found the three devices as they had expected. But they also found much more. 

"Hey Daniel." Janet had called.

"What?"

"Take a look at these markings. They look like something similar to the inscription found on the cover of the casing. Can you read what it says?"

"Not very clearly. Can you- can you clean it up a bit for me?"

"Yep..there. How's that?" Janet had paused, watching Daniel as he looked over the inside of the casing.

"Well, that's odd.."

"What is?" Sam had queried.

"These look like more inscriptions giving, instructions, of some sort. What's not helping is that they also seem to be as cryptic as the one on the outside."

"What do you mean?" Sam had asked again, moving closer.

"Well, note how there seem to be two.."

"Mmmmhmmm.."

"Well, see the one above the bigger device, you know, the one that you found to be slightly bigger and denser-" He had paused looking at the two women next to him. "Well, that one says, 'To that who sleeps'-"

"What about the other inscription?" Sam asked.

"The one above the two smaller devices?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, that..that one says, 'Awaken those who see'. Weird huh?"

"Yeah it is." Janet had commented. Sam had suddenly paused, looking at the devices. She had walked over to the side desk and grabbed her charts from there before moving back to Daniel and Janet.

"Sam, what's up?" Daniel had queried, watching her strangely. Sam had looked up startled from her musings and opened her mouth to reply before turning her focus back to her notes. "Daniel, those inscriptions..."

"The three of them?"

"Yep. What did they say again?"

"'To see while sleeping what others cannot', 'To that who sleeps' and 'Awaken those who see'. Why?"

"And you say that you think that they are some form of cryptic instruction manual or how to use guide?"

"Well, yeah. That's all that I have been able to come up with so far."

Sam had paused, her forehead creased with thought.

"I think that you're right."

"You do! You do-"

"Yes, I mean, I'm only hypothesizing here, but I think that you may have been onto something."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, so far, from what we've seen, these "objects" appear to be Tok'ra Memory Recall devices right? Then why would there be three, two of which are the same, and why would one be different? And also, why would there be two different sets, for lack of a better word, of-"instructions"? I think that one of the devices must be modified slightly so that it can receive a different kind of recollection; that would explain the higher density and 'look'-"

"Modified so that it can recollect the memories of a person who is asleep?" Janet had commented, seeming to catch on.

"Or in a coma."

"Of course! And that, that would explain the outside casing's inscription." Daniel had interrupted. After seeing the brief looks of confusion on the faces of the women, he had continued. "'To see while sleeping what others cannot'! It's brilliant! It's, it's basically telling us how the device works. I mean, not exactly, but it's hinting at it. 'To see while sleeping...'- asleep or in a coma-"

"But how do they communicate the memory if they are asleep-" Janet had questioned.

"The other devices," Sam had replied. "They must enable two other people to communicate the memories or events as the person who is wearing the device cannot!"

"You mean other people wear the smaller devices and see the memories of someone else?" Janet had queried.

"Yes." Sam had answered.

"But how are the recollections triggered? You said yourself that when you were on Natoo you had to literally find the recollections or that that they simply appeared at will or triggered by a particular face or particular thing that appeared." 

"Well, we'll just have to hope that it works the same way with these devices."

"That's a big if Major."

"I know that Janet, but it's all that we can go on."

Now that they had figured out how the devices worked all that they had to wait for was for General Hammond, Jack and Teal'c to arrive so that they could report their findings and hopefully, activate the devices. Sam waited impatiently by the door and upon the men's arrival, moved silently to Jack's side. Acknowledging her action, Jack brushed his hand gently against hers, squeezing the ends of her fingers. Gently, squeezing his back, Sam stole a brief look at him as Janet addressed the General, explaining what they had figured out. When her explanation was over the General paused, considering what he had just been told.

"So you're telling me that these things are like those Tok'ra devices, as we originally thought, only these ones have been adapted so that two people can observe someone else's memories, because that person is either asleep or in a coma or some such thing?"

"Yes sir."

"And you think that it could help us?"

"Yes sir, I do. And Daniel and Major Carter agree. We have come to the conclusion that we should be able to use this device to find out what happened to this girl and the extent of what she knows."

"But we also have no way of controlling the device- when the recollections occur or what they recollect?"

"No, sir we don't."

"I see," General Hammond sighed. He hated this. "I have already given you my consent to test this device. Go ahead. But before-"

"Sir, before you continue, I would like to volunteer to wear one of the devices." Sam interrupted. She felt Jack turn to stare at her, and not wanting to see the look on his face, she kept her vision directed at the general. She saw the hesitation in his eyes as he registered what she had requested. 

"Major, are you sure that that is wise, I mean, you only just encountered one about a month ago?"

"I know sir and that is why I would like to volunteer. As I have the most experience with the device out of the people present, I think that it could be valuable to the success of this venture."

General Hammond studied her for a moment and saw the determination in her eyes. Sighing softly, "Permission granted Major."

"Thank you sir."

"Sir," Jack interrupted. "Before anyone else has anything else to say I would like to request your permission to wear the second device."

Hammond paused again, slightly put out at the colonel's readiness to try out this new technology. "Are you sure about that Colonel?"

"Yes I am sir."

"Well then, permission granted." General Hammond replied. "Any objections?" He asked, looking at Janet, Teal'c and Daniel. Seeing no disapproving responses, he turned to face Janet. "Doctor, when you're ready, apply the devices to the colonel and the major. Keep them under supervision at all times. If they show any signs of fatigue or distress, I want to you to do all that you can to relieve that and contact me. We don't know what the hell we are walking into here and I want you to be prepared for anything. Good luck." With that, he walked out of the lab and back to his office, his mind filled with worry and doubt.


End file.
